More Sony UX pics
A jkOnTheRun reader who wishes to remain anonymous just sent me these photos of the secret Sony Vaio ultra-portable. When I blow up the first photo I see that this baby has Bluetooth, WiFi and WWAN!
The second photo reveals that Sony just won't give up on the Memory Stick media that everyone hates. It also has an interesting "Capture" button.
The next photo shows the new Vaio with the QWERTY keyboard extended and a couple of zoom buttons on the right side of the screen.
This last photo shows the device from the front. Notice what appears to be a square joystick nubbin on the upper right side. The slider switch on the lower left is a wireless on/ off switch. This device is getting more interesting by the minute.:)
This last photo shows the docking station which appears very similar to the Sony U dock with VGA, Firewire, and USB slots.
UPDATE: Sony has just updated the teaser site and it now ends with a question "is it red, green, or blu?" Could this be implying Blu-Ray support of some kind? It says all will be revealed on 5/16.
-jk
That thing looks amazing!!!
Posted by: Rob Bushway | May 14, 2006 at 05:32 PM
Is this a Windows XP machine? if not, what's the OS? also, when you say WWAN enabled, do you know if it is Cingular's HSDPA network that is enabled or Verizon/Sprint evdo? please don't say EDGE enabled...too slow.
???
Posted by: JuzMe | May 14, 2006 at 05:59 PM
I certainly hope this thing has some onboard USB ports. Notice that the one of the doc is a 4 pin connector, which means that there is probably no power on it.
I must also say that I am a bit skeptical. It will be interesting to see some specs.
Posted by: Illuminator | May 14, 2006 at 06:00 PM
The screen has an aspect ratio of 1.66, suggesting it has the 800 x 480 resolution of a UMPC, not the 800 x 600 resolution of the Motion Computing LS800.
Posted by: Mickey Segal | May 14, 2006 at 06:28 PM
Please will all other ultraportable manufacturers leave the room and go home now. Ladies and gentleman, I think we have the ultimate ultraportable.
Now please Sony:
- sell the thing in Europe (Sony has a habit of not selling ultaportables in europe)
- Please put a Windows tablet OS on it. Rumour has it this thing runs Windows XP Pro
Posted by: scoobie | May 14, 2006 at 06:33 PM
It appears to have a HDMI port.
Posted by: jk | May 14, 2006 at 06:44 PM
Note the screen doesn't seem to tilt at all, that suggests to use the keyboard and see the screen at the same time you need to have it in your hand, ie its not designed for typing on a flat surface.
It looks really small, I'd say 7.5 inches wide.
Looks like it might fit in your pocket.
Posted by: scoobie | May 14, 2006 at 06:55 PM
From the info we received the unit will support Cingular's network. It does have an HDMI port running only Windows XP Pro no Tablet and no UMPC software such as dialkeys, etc.. James and I got photos from apparently two different sources.
http://mobilitytoday.com/news/006482/sony_ux_umpc
Posted by: David Ciccone | May 14, 2006 at 06:57 PM
It appears not to have a stylus. Oh no..
Posted by: scoobie | May 14, 2006 at 07:24 PM
I don't see an HDMI port, but if you look at the 1st pic, on the left hand side of the device you can see the usb symbol...looks like enough room for a couple ports.
Posted by: RaiD | May 14, 2006 at 07:29 PM
man, I have one word, luscious. let's hope it's got evdo, and tablet pc. I really love sony's innovative designs. will have to replace the u50 now.
Posted by: psychoboogie | May 14, 2006 at 07:57 PM
Sony just updated the teaser- it now shows some more shots of the device and ends with "is it red, green, or blu?" Could this be in reference to blu-ray? It says the secret will be revealed on 5/16.
Posted by: jk | May 14, 2006 at 08:18 PM
Mobilitysite's David Ciccone has posted some specs under their MobilityToday. He also commented that the 3g option will most likely be from Cingular. Also on another forum a member stated that it will run XP and maybe hold a Flash based HD. Smartmobileassets has an entire page that sum's up all of the rumors and provides the direct links to where they are found. The link is below:
http://smartmobileassets.com/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b=blogs,m=1147649341,s=0
Posted by: Steve | May 14, 2006 at 08:41 PM
From our good friends at OrigamiProject.com forums, link: http://origamiproject.com/forums/5490/ShowThread.aspx#5490
The rumoured specs are as follows :
Posted to engadget in the comments :
UX: 7″ touch screen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Core Solo, WAN, biometric sensor, dual cameras, “UMPC” with Windows XP Pro (not Tablet Edition).
Posted to the u750p forum
"Got some news from Sony insiders, a new reborn U series will be
introduced soon. Some specs (not final):
7 inch touch screen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Core Solo, WAN, biometric
sensor, Motion Eye, "UMPC" with Windows XP Pro (not Tablet Edition).
Also they promise a flash HDD!"
There must be some accuracy in these sources as both correctly predicted the slide out keyboard, biometric sensor and camera BEFORE Sony's teaser campaign released these details.
Posted by: Jerad H | May 14, 2006 at 09:26 PM
As an old Sony PDA user, I still have a bad taste in my mouth on how they left us CLIE users high a dry. I'd think long and hard before I invest my time in a Sony non core product.
If I do jump back in...please support non Sony standards...thank the gods ATRAC is nearly dead.
Posted by: sc | May 14, 2006 at 09:55 PM
I hope the Flash HDD report is inaccurate. While they will be fast and battery friendly they are much lower in capacity than a 40 or 60 GB HDD would be.
Posted by: jk | May 14, 2006 at 10:19 PM
One question about flash drives, don't they give out after a certain number or writes? I can kind of see them working in Ipods, but on a windows machine with a swap drive I'd think they'd die rather quickly?
Or has this problem been fixed?
Posted by: alienz | May 14, 2006 at 10:22 PM
Also as an old Sony PDA user and U750 user, I still have a *good* taste in my mouth about how well-designed and robust these Sony products are. Zero hard resets on any of 4 Clies, all functions still work perfectly after hard use.
Flash HDD sounds great! And expensive!
Posted by: JoeT | May 14, 2006 at 10:35 PM
Ooh. I'm getting chills. This could be AWESOME! Read all about the blu-disc technology and the HDMI technology on the Sony Canada website linked above. You can see from the UX pics themselves that there is clearly a HDMI port right on the back/side of this sweet baby!
If this thing has 3g built into it and Windows XP or Tablet XP, look out, I'll *fight you* for it! :)
PS I doubt that the keyboard is big enough for touch typing unless you have hands the size of a kindergartner but I'm thinking that maybe if you bought Samsung's Q1 organizer and keyboard accessories, that might work SWEET with such a device when you want to haul off and write a long, long, LONG email for those of us that type 100+ wpm on full sized keyboards.
PPS Did I mention that I'm EXCITED?! Origiami was okay, but the hype didn't live up to the reality as I felt that the Origiamis, for the most part, weren't any better or perhaps not as good as the oQo and Sony U750P which were already on the market. That feeling was reinforced today as I went to a Best Buy "sister" store that actually had 10 Q1s in stock on Friday but were already sold down to only 2 left in the store earlier today when I was there and had opportunity to play with a Q1 for more than an hour. I came somewhat close to *buying* the Q1 and now I'm glad that I waited! I have a feeling that this Sony device is going to meet the hype if not beat it. :)
Posted by: JuzMe | May 14, 2006 at 11:06 PM
Truly Awesome!!!
Posted by: Dreamchaser | May 14, 2006 at 11:18 PM
It'll probably use a version of the Cell processor.
Posted by: Erik | May 14, 2006 at 11:37 PM
anyone remember the old Psion series V mx??? Why can't someone come out with an UMPC/HPC with a keyboard as good as on the Psion???
Posted by: willy | May 15, 2006 at 12:39 AM
i believe its ultra-fake.
Posted by: Ansin Ozturkmen | May 15, 2006 at 01:39 AM
It looks very bloated, why's it so thick? The Nokia 770 looks like a far better option to me.
Posted by: Jim Hughes | May 15, 2006 at 04:11 AM
Someone commented on Engadget that this has "a 4.5 inch 1024x600 touchscreen with XBRITE". I've tried experimenting with the scaling of the picture, and I think the 4.5" screen is more accurate (although I think it might be 5" instead). If you look at the fingerprint scanner, that would be massive if the screen were 7". Also, the old Sony U750P had a 5" LCD screen.
If you take the next to last picture (the one of the device head on) and scale it to 63%, it will make the screen about 5". Then the fingerprint scanner is about 0.5", almost exactly the size of the fingerprint scanner on the Fujitsu P1510 (using it for comparison only), and the keys on the thumb-board are almost exactly the size of the ones on the Cingular 8125 version of the HTC Wizard, just spaced out more.
Also, if you scale the last picture of the back of the dock down to 95%, the iLink and USB ports are now about the proper size. The video port looks like a VGA port and has the screw attachments for VGA as well. Apparently the HDMI and BluRay parts of this teaser campaign refer to a new notebook that is being simultaneously announced.
Likewise, the pic of what I think is the top of the unit should be scaled to 64% to be roughly proportionate. If this scaling is roughly correct, the main unit is about 6.25" by 4.5" by 1.75", and the dock is about I bet the antenna is extendable: it looks like it's too thin to have out all the time, and it also has a rounded tip, so I don't think it's recessed in the body but located in a grooved slot on the back on the unit.
The dock appears to be about the same width or less than the main unit. I presume the bottom of the main device has a specialized dock port. Not clear where the USB port(s) are located.
Posted by: cobalt | May 15, 2006 at 06:51 AM
Sorry about the typo above. The dock would be 6" wide and 1.5" thick.
Posted by: cobalt | May 15, 2006 at 07:03 AM
I believe that the scaling of the Memory Stick slot indicates a 5 inch screen. Someone has reported that the UX will be 1024 x 600 and while this might be accurate it is going to be awfully tiny for a 5 inch screen. Also, the HDMI slot and Blu-Ray reference almost assuredly go with the also to be announced AR notebook computer (remember my comments on the teaser URL and have nothing to do with this UPC, the UX.
Posted by: jk | May 15, 2006 at 07:37 AM
Guys, why are you saying that you don't think the HDMI slot and blu-ray reference applies to the UX (and instead applies to the AR)? Because, if you look closely at the pictures being represented as being of the *UX* you can *clearly* see a HDMI labeled slot.
???
Posted by: JuzMe | May 15, 2006 at 12:08 PM
Great...
Another Sony product looking for a market.
I predict a replay of the whole Tablet-PC success (or lack thereof).
Posted by: SmartITGuy | May 15, 2006 at 12:59 PM
Jon (who seems to be the main insider leaker) has posted to engadget these details..
Price: $1799.99
Release date: June
4.5 inch 1024×600 touchscreen with XBRITE
slide-out QWERTY keyboard
Windows XP Professional
1.2GHz Core Solo processor
512MB RAM
30GB hard drive with shock protection
802.11a/b/g
WAN (Cingular EDGE)
Bluetooth
dual cameras (VGA on the front, 1.3 MP on the back) with a microphone
biometric fingerprint sensor
1 USB port
Memory Stick slot
headphone and microphone inputs
1.1 pounds
Dimensions: 6″ x 4″ x 2″
Battery Life:3 to 7 hours
Stylus and a case will be included
Docking station which adds 3 USB ports, 1 Firewire port, and VGA/AV outputs
GPS will also be supported through Bluetooth
I was really happy with the first pics and the rumour this was a 7 inch screen, I am now disappointed however with these limitations to the device:
1. Small hard drive
2. Lack of Tablet OS (Amazing they've made the same mistake twice after the 750p)
3. The tiny screen! Its too small and you'll be scrolling all the time.
Nevertheless , I think it will sell, it just won't take on the likes of the Q1 (tablet os , 7 inch screen)
Posted by: scoobie | May 15, 2006 at 01:01 PM
All righty then folks, get your Bat belts out for this mammoth.
Does anyone want to buy 2 U50's from me? ;)
Posted by: fil | May 15, 2006 at 01:37 PM
There's a side by side comparison with the u750p/u70 here. this suggests its a 5 inch screen (personally I think a 4.5 inch screen on a windows device would be very hard to deal with)
http://cafe.empas.com/vaiou/photo/photovaio/read.html?asn=162¬ice=0&pno=1&oby=2&odir=0&fd=0&bt=30&ac=134&rurl=list.html%3Fpno%3D1%26oby%3D2%26odir%3D0%26ac%3D134%26fd%3D0
Posted by: scoobie | May 15, 2006 at 01:38 PM
Stuff magazine seem to have spoken to Sony, they are reporting it won't be released in Europe
"Our contact also said the UX will hit shops around July, though it’s likely to be limited to the US and Japan. Fingers crossed, gadget importers Dynamism UK will take it up: we’ve dropped them a line to find out, so check back for an update."
http://www.stuffmag.co.uk/hotstuffarticle.asp?de_id=1697
Posted by: scoobie | May 15, 2006 at 02:15 PM
Eh. Disappointing.
So it's a U71P with
- slide-out keyboard
- EDGE and Bluetooth
- 2 cheesy cameras
- microphone
- fingerprint sensor
- lacking the CF II slot.
- probably a poorer choice in screen resolution.
- 0.5" smaller screen
Eh.
Posted by: JoeT | May 15, 2006 at 04:19 PM
videos changed again
http://www.learningcenter.sony.us/assets/itpd/notebooks/promos/vaio_summer06/index.html
They seem to be calling it the "UX micro PC".. a play on the "ultra mobile pc"? (they can't use UMPC if it doesn't feature tablet OS)
Posted by: scoobie | May 15, 2006 at 07:35 PM
Sounds cool, bummer it won't support SD media like all my other devices.
Posted by: feddas | May 15, 2006 at 08:30 PM
Eh. EDGE might be a deal killer for me. I want EVDO/HSDPA like speeds or BETTER. C'mon, Sony, don't you realize that we're just a few short weeks away from *both* Verizon and Sprint rolling out the *next* version of EVDO, Rev A?
It's already been ANNOUNCED at the CTIA wireless show in April in Las Vegas. Sprint announced Rev A coming by about 3rd quarter of this year. My Verizon guy says its just a few weeks away. And Novatel at CTIA announced the CARDS for Rev A and show pictures and demos of the cards.
And you want me to settle for EDGE? er, I doubt it...
...I just might wait for the oQo model 2. Maybe they'll have EVDO built-IN. :)
When are these guys gonna realize how FUSSY we early adopters are and how more and more of us are HOLDING back waiting for the "perfect" machine after all of the past false starts/hopes/shattered/dreams.
Posted by: JuzMe | May 15, 2006 at 08:59 PM
One other thing. It HAS to display well in BRIGHT sunshine. I've only seen two handtops ever do that thus far. The Sony U750P/U50/U70/U71 series. And the oQo (I just saw the oQo out in bright sunlight yesterday for the first time ever and it displayed very well). That's the
MAIN THING
that killed the Samsung Q1 deal for me. I had the guy walk outside the store with me with the Q1 in hand to see how well it displayed in sunlight.
You couldn't see a d--- thing.
No thanks.
You want to call it "ultra mobile" and I can't even take it outside? Puh-lease.
Posted by: JuzMe | May 15, 2006 at 09:16 PM
http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Style-a/Product/U/index.html
http://www.jp.sonystyle.com/Style-a/Special/U/Movie/index.html
Posted by: hallow | May 16, 2006 at 05:58 AM
Wow. Amazing! That phone...I want it!
Posted by: Blu-ray Movies | November 19, 2006 at 01:04 AM